Platos Cave Allegory and the Mass Use of Mobile Telephones in the E.U - Essay Example

With reference to Plato’s cave allegory, explore three arguments for and three arguments against the mass use of mobile telephones in the E.U. The use of technology has to follow specific guidelines in order to make sure that no severe damages will be caused on the human health. However, it seems that today technology is used by the public without the appropriate measures of precaution as stated by organizations around the world. In this context, the use of mobile phones has been extended in all countries around the world covering a significant part of the population. However, the use of technology has been found to be related with the development of particular behavioural patterns either in the short or the long term. Indicatively, the study of Montes et al. (2006, 67) which refers to the “the potential consequences of the use of mobile telephones on people’s behaviour and identity” has revealed that “technology promotes and foments certain patterns of behaviour and of understanding one’s own identity which goes hand in hand with a spatial-temporal recomposition of the context in which actions take place”. In EU the use of mobile phones is extensive. This use could be possibly explained through the views of Plato included in the cave allegory which can be found in his work “POLITEIA’ (i.e. state) and specifically in the second volume, book seven of this work. Through the above views, a relationship may be identified between the use of mobile phones and the common market or the personal attitudes of the persons living within the EU as a Union of interests, culture and science. Plato presented an interesting aspect of the use of technology in modern era. If his ideas – as presented through the cave allegory - are used in order to explain the use of mobile phones in the European Union area, a series of interested findings are going to be revealed. In cave allegory, there are people who are ‘tightened’ to the rock and others that walk in front of them carrying goods. All people are supposed to be within a cave which has an ‘entrance’ where plenty of light can be seen (book 7, lines 514a – 515a). People that are ‘tightened’ cannot see nothing else apart from the others passing and a fire in a short distance (always within the cave). With a reference particularly in the case of use of mobile phones in EU the following arguments should be made in favour of mobile phones: a) mobile phones can be regarded as tools of communication, b) even people that are ‘isolated’ by the society can use the mobile phone in order to communicate with other people – possibly of the same condition and c) mobile phones can be used by people in order to explore and expand their knowledge and their social relationships (in the case of the cave people inside the cave would communicate with people outside the cave). On the other hand, there are certain issues that prove a negative influence of technology (and the mobile phones) on human life. More specifically: In the case of the cave the following issues should be considered (referring to the use of mobile phones): a) people in the cave (even those who are not tightened) would use the mobile phone to communicate and would avoid to exit the cave and develop a personal relationship with other people, b) those tightened in the cave would have as a target to acquire a mobile phone and would ‘loose’ the main aspect of life (which is freedom of movement) and c) even after exiting the cave people could use mobile phones as a cause to return to the cave since they could communicate by their with other people (no need for socializing). For this reason it is mentioned by Plato that even someone would force the ‘prisoner’ to exit the cave (lines 515c-515d, 516a – 516b) the prisoner would might resist and would try to return to the cave where all images are known and environment is safe (515e). The consumer behaviour of people in the European Union is rather difficult to be explored with accuracy because of the existence of many different cultures referring to the particular member states. However, the study of Burgess (2001, 93) revealed that “the unprecedented prominence of consumer groups in contemporary Europe is not the product of a bottom up process driven by newly demanding consumers”. More specifically, it seems that in Europe there are many common patterns of consumer behaviour having created because of the existence of common rules and principles in many sectors of the economy, the law and the commerce. Although this connection is not directly visible, Burgess (2001, 93) found through his study – which referred to a comparison of consumer behaviour of British citizens compared to their European counterparts - that “the politicization of the consumer in Europe has come from above; the creation of the citizen consumer was firstly an attempt to introduce the appearance of accountability as the market was deregulated in the 1980s while aligning authority with the consumer subsequently evolved as an important means of (re)establishing legitimacy”. The above procedure of ‘adaptation’ of European rules and patterns of consumption on the populations of the member states is not instantaneous but it is more the result of a long effort for establishment of common political, financial and cultural behaviours within the European Union as a requirement for the increase of its strength – at least as this issue is considered by the governments of the member states targeting the improvement of Europe’s position towards its ‘competitors’ in the global political and financial scene. An issue that needs to be mentioned is the fact that young people are more likely to be influenced by the development of technology instead of the elderly. This aspect can lead to significant assumptions regarding the social interaction among people in the European Union as it can be observed through their common preferences on products and services. With a reference particularly to young people’s daily activities Caronia et al. (2004, 28) tried to identify “teenagers cultural ways of interpreting the mobile phone and its uses, as they become part of their social world” and found that “through their accounts and narratives about young peoples use of the mobile phone, teenagers construct their specific cultural model of this communication technology: it is seen as a radically social performance making the mobile phone (MP) a detonator of social thinking: it provokes reflective thinking on the ethics, etiquette and aesthetics of everyday action and social life”. In other words, mobile phone has been found to be closely related with the social life of young teenagers, however this relationship is difficult to be ‘measured’ with accuracy mostly if taking into account the constant changing personal attitudes of teenagers around the world. A similar survey conducted by Oksman et al. (2004) in Finland showed that “the spread of mobile communication among Finnish teenagers has been markedly rapid during the latter half of the 1990s; young people have created and developed a communication culture that incorporates many special features, such as a rise in the use of text-based communication channels; Teenagers’ intersecting and selective use of communication channels has generated multimedial communication”. In accordance with the above the appearance of specific social characteristics in teenagers across Europe should be regarded as the result of the ‘intrusion’ of technology in daily activities at a higher or a lower level. In this way, the use of mobile phones – as of any other product of technology – can reveal specific details for the user at least regarding a particular sector of his/ her activity. The relationship of people with technology was also examined by Yapp (2000, 5) who supported that the influence of globalization in all aspects of human behaviour can be significant. Moreover, because technology is one of the main ‘vehicles’ for the promotion of globalization internationally, people around the world should try to avoid the extensive dependence on the technology. However, the above researcher found that “a rapid transition took place from an industrial to a knowledge society and as a result people have to find new ways to cope with this transition”. Under these terms the following proposals could help people to acquire knowledge and avoid the risks related with the extended use of technology: “economic competitiveness with social inclusion; lifelong learning for all; risk: management over minimization; ‘smallish’ is beautiful; social innovation over technological invention; participation over representation; interdependence over independence; value-added with values” (2000, 5). The application of the above guidelines could possibly help people to reduce their dependence on technology and – in this way - their level of consumption (with a reference to the products of global civilization). However, such a prospect is quite difficult to be realized. It should be noticed that the application of common practices (consumer, cultural, commercial and so on) within the European Union should be regarded as a normal result if taking into account the structure and the principles of the Union accepted by its members. In this context, Bolin (2006, 189) supported that “with the expansion of the European Union eastwards, nations have adopted various strategies for being included in the European community; the phenomenon is in fact not new, as the marketing of nations has occurred since at least the World’s Fairs of the 19th century; however, while the World’s Fairs addressed the nation-states of high industrialism, cultural technologies are the features used in a post-industrialized context, where it is more important to impress with abilities of symbolic production rather than with traditional industrial production”. In other words, the existence of strong influences in all social and commercial sectors within the Community should be regarded as a normal situation. Even before the creation of the Union, its member states were related through their co-existence in the European continent and the exchange of ideas and goods which traditionally took place among all states in the particular region. Generally, the use of mobile phone has been found to be related with the social characteristics of particular groups of the population. More specifically, the study of Caronia et al. (2004, 28) proved that “using a mobile phone in a teenage-appropriate way is not a matter of technical competence; it requires larger communicative skills that are cultural knowledge of when, where, why and, moreover, how to use this technology; interpreted in the frames of teenagers specific culture, the uses of the MP are also a tool for constructing the main dimensions of this culture and are used as a laboratory for the development of the skills needed to become competent members of their own community”. This relationship of technology with society (as proved through the example of mobile phone presented above) can be regarded as expected. In fact, technology has been developed in order to serve the interests of specific social groups – at least at the beginning – while gradually it has become a necessary element of daily life for all people internationally – with the exception of limited groups of ‘aboriginals’. The changes proposed by Plato in his cave allegory cannot be made easily. In fact it is difficult for people that are extremely depended on technology to decide to stop using it as a main element of their daily activities. The issue of social defence may appear hear. Social defence – as opposed to the military defence which is based on the use of arms – is based on the presentation of the appropriate ideas and aspects that can justify a particular social behaviour. Regarding this issue Martin (1999, 35) stated that “social defence requires the development of strategy, as does military defence; the role of technology in social defence strategy has never received much attention; of the various perspectives on technology, perhaps the most useful for the purposes of social defence is that artefacts, by embodying social relationships, influence but do not determine their uses; in practical terms, it is fruitful to survey different types of technology to see which ones are most supportive of strategic goals”. In other words, the promotion of particular facts and ideas is a primary tool for the support of personal rights in current society while the extended use of technology although can save time and offer a higher quality of daily life, it can reduce the human cognition on specific social aspects which are fundamental for his existence. Cooperation and coexistence should be the priority of governmental policies followed around the world. The development of technology – which in any case has reached extremely high standards, cannot offer to people the necessary psychological support in order to face the challenges of modern life. References Bolin, G. (2006) Visions of Europe: Cultural Technologies of nation-states. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 9(2): 189-206 Burgess, A. (2001) Flattering Consumption: Creating a Europe of the consumer. Journal of Consumer Culture, 1(1): 93-117 Caronia, L., Caron, A. (2004) Constructing a Specific Culture: Young People’s Use of the Mobile Phone as a Social Performance. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 10(2): 28-61 Eriksson, J., Giacomello, G. (2006) The Information Revolution, Security and International Relations: (IR)relevant theory? International Political Science Review, 27(3): 221-244 Martin, B. (1999) Social Defence Strategy: The Role of Technology. Journal of Peace Research. 36(5): 535-552 Montes, J., Muroz, D. (2006) Changes in the self resulting from the use of mobile phones. Media, Culture and Society, 28(1): 67-82 Oksman, V., Turtiainen, J. (2004) Meanings of Mobile Communication in Everyday Life among Teenagers in Finland. New Media and Society, 6(3): 319-339 Plato, Republic, Book 7, The cave allegory. Daedalus Publishing Yapp, C. (2000) The knowledge society: the challenge of transition. Business Information Review, 17(2): 59-65 Read More